Digging Root Vegetables

Just thought I’d share a picture of this year’s potato harvest. Nothing spectacular about it until you consider that I didn’t plant a single potato this season. All these potatoes are the result of volunteer plants that sprouted on their own and received no special care or attention this summer. I didn’t even notice the […]

Growing baby ginger in the home garden sure sounds interesting; but isn’t ginger a tropical plant that’s not suitable for the climates here in the U.S.? Well not exactly, farmers and gardeners across the country are discovering that they can raise a crop of fresh ginger under a wide range of conditions and climates! I […]

Takinogawa Gobo, aka Edible Burdock is a great option if you want to try a new and unusual, but easy to grow root crop in your vegetable garden this season. Here in Central PA burdock is a common weed that is used by some as a medicinal wild plant. Add Gobo to the list of […]

This summer Barb outlined a planned strategy for cultivating sweet potatoes in a limited growing area. Well the impressive returns are in as Barb recently harvested the the portion of her sweet potatoes that were planted in containers this summer. Here is the follow up report detailing the success that she achieved while growing sweet […]

A few weeks ago I posted my latest discoveries in growing sweet potatoes this summer, along with a few changes that were made in my organic cultivation practices. Afterward I received an email from Barb, our small gardening specialist outlining her own special techniques for raising sweet potatoes in small gardens or containers: Kenny, let […]

Some veggies wilt under the summer’s heat but growing sweet potatoes is one way to make the most of high temps in the backyard garden. In fact, many growers will need to find ways to turn the heat up a few degrees in order to keep sweets happy and productive. The opportunity for growing sweet […]

A previous article about potato onions provided detailed information describing this unusual root crop, along with tips for growing them in the backyard garden. Today I wanted to share a couple of photos from this summer’s harvest of these unique onions.

Charlene left the following comment on a previous Veggie Gardening Tips Blog entry entitled Growing Shallots in which she inquired into curing shallots harvested from the backyard garden: “We live in the deep south part of Louisiana. Our shallots are ready for harvest now. You spoke of drying and curing… could you please elaborate?

I didn’t plant a single potato in the garden last year due to space constraints, but this year I’m looking to include at least one variety of heirloom potato. I settled on growing a fingerling type potato because I really like the waxy texture and the versatility that they offer in the kitchen. Fingerlings are just as easy to grow as the common standard potato varieties.

About the Gardener

Gardening is a wonderful gift that I've developed the hard way... through trial and error! I hope to share the incredible lessons learned and make things a lot easier for you out in the organic vegetable garden.